generous state retirement pension. because of the triple lock someone retiring today will be 15,000 pounds better off over the rest of their lives and they would've been under the plans we inherited. linked into that we've kept the free bus pass can we get the free television license, we've kept the other free pensioner benefits and i believe were doing fair by britain's pensioners. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister -- [inaudible] there's a contrast. does he agree with me that we should be in the vanguard of reform in our own pension so we can look at at our constituents in the face of? >> know, i absolutely agree with you honorable lady in this house. we are public sector workers as well. we should be subject to exactly the same changes we are asking others to take on. so the increase in contribution should apply to the mp system even though it's a system where

we already made him quite a lot. we are saying right across the board the increase in pension >> age week the house of commons is in session, we air prime minister's questions. again on sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. watch any time at c-span.org where you can find video of other british public affairs programs. next, journalist david actxs reports on u.s. troops in southern afghanistan. then, representative thaddeus mccotter announces his candidacy for president. >> tune in to c-span this independent state. panelists discuss if the united states can remain united.

>> at the political level, we are more divided. you look at partisan polarization at any point since the civil war and reconstruction. >> then, religion, bonds, and the death penalty. later, nixon white house insiders discuss his foreign policy. this monday on c-span. for the complete schedule, go to c-span.org. >> david axe was imbedded with the u.s. army in afghanistan. it is his fourth visit to the country. he spent time with the 4th airbourne, patrolling in remote areas and engaging the security situation. obama announced a plan to bring 10,000 troops home from afghanistan by the end of the year. >> it depends on where you are.

my experience is in the east. i have a little experience in the south. in the south, there is a lot of open combat. this is the headquarters of the taliban. >> in the east the violence depends on where you are. these to have strong relationships with kabul, with a lot of traffic. today, these are what i call, bombing galleries, where the coalition troops and a large coalition presence is trying very hard to like this town in order to protect this. but every step that they take, they are threatened. thousands every year, that are killing hundreds of native troops, and many times the number of afghans.

as we move closer to the border, and you had se, the threat will change. this is not so much ied's because there is less vehicle traffic. the coalition soldiers and the taliban will move on foot. the coalition has helicopters, but then they are back to walking around on foot. this is a lot less useful and they are optimized for -- in places like this you see more small arms fire, lots of snipers. this looks like a street battle

in world war two, on a smaller scale. people throwing grenades and things like this. on the coalition side, there is a great air power, when it comes to the helicopters and jet fighters. the tactical security threat to ask for these soldiers -- this is located in the eastern part of afghanistan along the pakistan border. this is a critical area for the insurgents and the cross border infiltration and this is a historic avenue for movement from pakistan into afghanistan. in terms of the risk to u.s. troops, how will you characterize this?

>> there is a significant amount of influx of insurgent fighters in the area, mostly from pakistan moving into afghanistan. >> tell us a little bit about your mission. >> this the standard reconnaissance mission, along the historic route from pakistan. the terrain is inaccessible, so we are going there to see what this looks like for a future clearing operation. the major challenges the terrain, which is extreme and very difficult to move. and also, the people there have not seen the coalition presence in some time. >> what do you hope to achieve to the mission.

>> to accept these conditions for future operations and build our awareness of the atmosphere, so that we can continue the operations there. this is for the clear insurgent presence in the area. >> how do you tell if you have succeeded? >> the numbers that occur in the area, we have received a lot of indirect artillery and rocket fire, and we want to get these numbers to decrease. and also, the amount of in the material that we see moving farther into afghanistan. it will cross the border here. this has a significant impact on insurgent activity. >> richard. >> >> on april 4 and fifth, i

was in bed with a unit of the 104th airborne -- airborne division, and there were trying to lock down the border between afghanistan and pakistan. these areas have seen no native soldiers at all. this was the parachute infantry regiment, occupying two mountaintops, one of these border districts. the american and afghan troops would just find a good vantage point, and start looking around in the valley and on the road, looking into any compounds that

they could see to get a sense of who lives here, what is the normal pattern of life, are there any major signs of the taliban, and if it is there, can we draw them out? and for two days in april we were there. the villagers sauce and the taliban launched a couple of rockets. nobody was hurt on either side. but this would be the first foray into a long-neglected district, crossing over into afghanistan. >> see that there is the draw right there. >> this area -- we are here basically to stop the incoming

traffic. certain traffic coming from pakistan into afghanistan, this is kind of their first place here, where we fight them off and keep them from going farther into the country. there is a route that comes through these areas, coming from pakistan into afghanistan. most of them are used for commerce. and this goes farther into the larger cities. but they also use this to bring in a equipment to tackle the coalition forces. this is the biggest city in the area, with the most local populace. this is a center for trade and commerce in the area.

and these provinces where nato has not had much of a presence until quite recently, these are the border provinces that only began getting a large number of troops in the past year. the population is not very friendly to the coalition. so the population will harbor fighters for the taliban, and they will hold weapons for them and are aware of taliban movements. the approach for this province is to target, in a sense, the civilian populations. not with violence, but when they need intelligence -- you have to visit houses. you have to march out to where they are concentrated, to start knocking on doors, demanding to be let in. they will break the door down. but you knock on the door,

trying to be as friendly as possible. you start asking hard questions to the people inside, who has been here, what is in that box over there, show me around. and unlocked the door. >> >> there is someone in there.

>> take it easy.

>> who is the village elder? [speaking foreign language] >> i will look him up and talk to him about this. >> he was on the patrol -- >> a lot of the places like this are an endless, endless process of searching scores of identical kalats.

you knock on the door and go in. a lot of locked boxes. find out what's inside, if they won't tell you. in 99% of cases, nobody will say anything. you can't find any evidence. nato knows it happens. the taliban is watching nato. they see nato move out and try to move the weapons and things. they -- it is this cat and mouse game. the playing field is the homes of afluent civilians in these contested places. >> have you opened up this one, yet? >> we talked to them. what we will do is set up a

support unit. >> we will go off of there. >> bravo three. we are supposed to go -- >> go ahead and break it down. get on the road. >> that high ground up there. we'll cover you going in and go back to the bazaar. >> ok. >> all right. >> i don't think by any metric, people could argue there is less violence and attacks in afghanistan than ever. the number of civilians killed has only risen steadily through the war. the only way to say security is

better is to interpret things different. there are more soldiers on the ground, more nato civilians and contractors. more coalition forces on the ground than ever. simply having a presence. more of them are dying and fighting. the taliban is no smaller than it has ever been. if they are doing a good job, it is hard to say. it is rare for afghan forces to go out on their own patrols. it is -- it is hard to say what

is coming in afghanistan. isdon't know what the war going to look like with fewer nato troops and more afghan troops taking over daily responsibilities. >> freelance journalist david axe was imbedded with the troops in afghanistan, a regular contributor to "wired" and "the washington times." to see this again, go to c- span.org and go to the video library, and type "david axe." >> blackberry users, you can access our program anytime with the c-span radio application, all commercial free. you can listen to our signature

interview programs each week, all available around the clock, where every you are. download it free. on saturday,>> thaddeus mccodder announced he will run for the republican presidential nomination. is the third sitting house member to seek the announcement and he made his announcement at a freedom fest gathering. this is about 10 minutes. >> taking heart, despite the times and the weather. i will be brief today so that none of you get electrocuted. first i would like to introduce

my wife rita. [applause] our daughter, a milieu, who is thrilled to be with us. -- amelia. our son, timothy, who is equally thrilled, and not with us today is our son george, who is at work. which is something every american should have a chance to do. we here in michigan understand that our pursuit up prosperity and the american dream are in danger. we have seen a government that has refused to restructure itself for the future as we next, as our families have. we have seen a federal

government that is trying to spend its way into prosperity with our money and it has failed. we have seen a federal government that has tried to impose government run health care upon us, despite the consent of the people, and it will fail. we have seen a government that has bought into the midst of cap and trade and climate change and it, too, will fail. and we have seen a government buy into the concept that the wall street banks are too big to fail, and that policy has failed. but the one thing that will not fail, for it is to majestic to ever letdown lady liberty, is you, the sovereign american people. [cheers and applause]

through your hard work in your principal devotion to bequeathing to your children a better america, have no doubt that we will restructure the government for the future so that it is citizen-driven. we will restructure the wall street banks so we can grow our economy and shape the next american economic century. [applause] we will defend america from her enemies, and we will always support our brave men and women in uniform that are sacrificing so much for our security and liberty.

we will expand freedom to the oppressed to ensure freedom at home for ourselves and we will stand steadfast with our allies in this endeavour, notably over deer ally, israel. [applause] and all those seeking to break off the shackles of oppression, be it in iran's green revolution or in a communist oppressed blends guzman revolution, or be it those who stand up to chavez or decastro in latin america. just as we did on july 2 when the founders came together to declare their love of liberty and their own independence. [applause]

because we understand five fundamental principles, our liberty is from god, not the government. our sovereignty is in our souls, not the soil or the scepter. our security is in strength, not appeasement or surrender. our prosperity is from the private sector, not the public sector. [applause] and our troops are self evident, not relative -- truths are self evident, not a relative. these will guide us as we move

forward into the future, a future which many in this country believe will be one of diminished opportunity for the people of the united states and the next generation. i fundamentally disagree. for those who put their faith in big government, that might make sense, but -- that our best days are behind us, but for those who put their faith in the american people, we know that what we have a hard road ahead, we will have better days, and we will start now. [applause] too many americans, too many families, too many people are worried about whether or not they are still sovereign in their country, whether or not there is a new concept that

worked were some individuals are considered disposable citizens, where they are too small to matter. they are wrong. every single one of you, every single american is the fate and future of this country, and what we need in washington is someone who understands that the wave of the future is not big government, it is self government. someone in washington who will truly feel and understand the pain and anguish of 14 million unemployed americans, the feeling of being trapped of up to million -- 30 million americans who cannot find jobs because they are not there. people who understand that when

inflation is rising and wages are declining, people who need to know that someone in washington, no matter how derided or disposable someone else thinks you are, will stand for you. that is why today i am announcing my candidacy for the nomination of my republican party to serve as your president of the united states. [cheers and applause]

remember, the storms are coming. you may interpret it as any type of zero men that you wish. -- omen you wish. and so with your support and the support of anyone who will march beneath or beside the banner of the republican party, i look forward to working with you to ensure that once more, through the unfathomable grace of god and a virtuous genius of you, her free people, our free republican -- our free republic will again be a virtuous, prosperous, compassionate inspiration that will show all

the world what a free people can achieve. thank you very much for having me, and i look forward to playing with the band. [cheers and applause] she is still not thrilled to be here. >> he did that whole thing without a teleprompter, did you notice that? [applause] i am going to hijack this music stand here.

♪ ♪ ♪

the date is c-span and then spend the campaign trail.

twitter feeds and facebook updates from candidates and political reporters and links to media partners in the primary caucus state. to visit us online. they are highlighting his economic stimulus fan. a close this past january. the news conference was held about of our board because delegates attending fund-raisers and philadelphia that same evening. >> we are standing on the site of the allentown metalworks where president obama visited about 1.5 years ago. he indicated that this was a symbol of the success of this stimulus program.

you can see the weeds growing in the windows boarded up. it survive the great depression but not the obama economy. you now have 20 million americans dramatically under employed. the president says to give him more time. three years he has been in time. but he said it cannot turn the economy around.

i will collect on that. his is a one-year term. unless people feel about it, and people want change, it is a real work in a growing economy as a whole. they will have change in washington. >> what we do expect congress to do [inaudible] >> the first row of any enterprise is to recognize it is in trouble.

the present time is being focused on campaigning. he spent his time and energy fix in this economy. there is another president meeting with republicans. he should not be that town he is dealing with the fiscal crisis. he does not have a primary opponent. he is going to raise $1 billion? we will not raise anywhere near that. this is where he ought to be spending his time.

i would spend every waking moment doing what i could to get americans out to work. i would focus my energy and passion on the economy. i know why jobs leave. he does not know what it takes to create jobs. government does not create jobs. it allows employers to employ. he has done everything wrong. it was a lack of energy policy. yes fails on every dimension.

>> put in a balanced budget amendment to make sure dennis the more the way taken. >> [inaudible] >> i hope so. john mccain would have spent his time making the economy go. it john mccain would have come here, he would have stood behind making sure that was the case. it was a failure of its economic policy. it was an admiration for the person as a human being. he is out of his death. it is not something he understands.

>> [inaudible] >> americans are out of work and unemployed. housing bias still going down. he still have a crisis of foreclosure. this is failure. we are over 9% unemployment. that is failure.

he has said the bodie himself that 8%. that is a high number and we are still above that. it is not working. >> i am afraid it dealing with the president and his economic policy. this is not working. can i win pennsylvania? pennsylvanian want a good job.

they will focus on getting and albanians back to work. if i am present, i will do just that. -- getting pennsylvanian is back to work. if i am president, i will do just that. to try and help america become the most attractive place in the world for investors and innovators, creators. i want america to go back to work here. >> i'm not familiar with this bill. one of the things we did, i like free trade agreements. and did not know the specifics. a lot of republicans in washington have done the same thing. in my own experience with dealing with the issue with people sit careers have been

lost because industries are loss, it is that in some respects the best way to help those folks is to attach a bit and let that money go to some action hires them. we made it aided thousand dollar bonus. they got it has to anyone who had been employed for a year or more. it was inappropriate way for people to get back on their feet. i i like -- i like helping people yoget better jobs and skills. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> that evening, president obama spoke at a committee fund- raiser. this is the last major fund- raiser quarter for the 2010 presidential campaign cycle. he is joined by senator bob

casey, michael nutter. president obama also attended a private fund-raiser at the house of david cohen. this is about 25 minutes. thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you. everybody have a seat. i think i'm going to use this instead.

is this working? there you go. well, what a spectacular evening, and thank you all for taking the time to be here. i want to, first of all, you just heard from somebody who i consider a dear friend. this is a guy who stood with me was sure whether you it'll come out. please give it up for bob casey. >> they have been supportive of everything we have been trying to do. i cannot be prouder of the work they do, congressman brady is

here. thank you. your outstanding mayor is in the house. one of the great legislators in congress who also happens to be a political mine. -- a political mind. that is why we are so proud to have for as the chairwoman of the dnc, debbie wasserman, schultz. i see a lot and new faces out here. then i say a few faces i have no for a long time. some of you were here in miami before i had gray hair.

thank you. malia and sasha say makes in a distinguished. michelle says it just makes me look old. she loves me. she is said that makes me look old. being here with all of you, i cannot help but think back to the election to 15 years ago. it was a culmination of an extraordinary campaign that grew on the hard work and support the people all across america. men and women and some children.

we have to accept politics as usual. it was a beautiful night. it is pretty good. what i said that night, i said this is not the end. this is just the beginning. the road we were on was going to be difficult. the climb was going to be steep. we did not know how steep it will be. we did not realize the magnitude of the recession we were facing. when it realized that yardy loss 4 million jobs by the time and was sworn in. we know it to be tough.

i ran for president because it was time to do big things. we cannot keep kicking the can down the road anymore. thank you p. let me tell you what i thought there was so important to run

even though michelle is not so sure. and why you got involved. we ran because we believe in an economy that cannot work. it worked for everybody. prosperity with shared from the machinists on the lines to a manager on the floor. we ran because he believed our success is not just determine. they consider their kids to and could do dinner once in awhile. because for a decade, wages and incomes have flat line. koss kept going up for everybody

even though they did not have any more income. that is before the economic crisis. we were ablehit, to save them from collapse. we make sure that the automobile company ceo's were making the bonuses. we did it because he wanted to make sure that families who needed help could still take out loans to buy a house are starting a business. we wanted to make sure the millions of people who dealt with the automobile industry would still have jobs. some of those decisions were tough. we criticized a lot. some folks did not want to get involved in the automobile industry.

we save jobs. we saved american manufacturing. we cut taxes. we cut taxes for middle-class families. we had subsidies for the banks for student loans to make college more affordable. that is why i signed a bill to make sure there is equal pay for equal work. i have two daughters. i want to make sure they are treated the same as boys are. that is why we are promoting manufacturing, homegrown american energy. that will lead to jobs that pay decent salary. i want solar panels and electric cars to be built right here in america.

that is why with the help of this house and members of congress, we are standing up a new consumer bureau with the responsibility of looking out for ordinary people so folks are not cheated. . if you are getting a credit card or market, that is why we pass health reform. nobody goes bankrupt when they get sick. we had a long campaign because it was time to end the war. that is what we are doing. we removed 100,000 troops from iraq. we ended combat missions. we are on a path to bring the rest of the troops home by the end of the year.

i ran for president because i believe you need to refocus our energy after -- and our energy going after al qaeda. we have taken on their leadership. because of the charter any sacrifice of our troops, we are filling this. we are reducing our troops starting this month. said that afghans and start to make a responsibility for their own. we can start rebuilding right here at home. it is time to start rebuilding here at home. america is facing stiff competition for jobs.

the good hand out tax base and millionaires and billionaires. for close to a decade it was that way. it did not work out well. if you look at our history, that philosophy has never worked out well. people are just asking over what is in it for me?" america was built on the hard work of our people and businesses. we also said that a free system of public schools and a generation that was sent to college on the gi bill.

we sent a man to the moon. we discovered life-saving medicine. we launched the affirmation aging treated millions of jobs along the way. that is how you build a strong nation. that is how you build a strong middle-class. you make the investments that are needed and always looking out over the horizon. we believe them business. we believe in free markets. we believe in making sure every kid in this country has a chance. we believe that our seniors deserve to retire with dignity and respect. we believe in making investments in science and technology in. we believe in having the best infrastructure in the world. the same things to work for us in the past, that is where many

to be going. it is absolutely critical that we get a handle on our finances. it will be hard to keep of we do nothing. i am prepared to bring our deficit down. i will not reduce the deficit by it sacrificing our children's education. ournot going to reduce deficit by eliminating medical research. i will not sacrifice rebuilding

our roads and our bridges and our railway. elem philadelphia to have the best and nothing worse. i want is to have the best broadband. the best election grip. this is sacrificing america's future. there is one -- more than one way to mortgage our future. we will be mortgaging our future if we do not do anything about our deficit.

we sacrifice these very things that allow was to grow and succeed in compete in the future. what makes america great is not the might of our military or the size of our gdp. it is the character of our people. we are rugged individualists. that is part of what makes us americans. we like to make up our own minds. what also makes this to be our is our faith in the future. our recognition that the future is shared. the belief that i am my brother and sister's keeper. that my wife is richer and our country is stronger when everyone participates and has a measure of security.

that is a vision for america and compassion in america. it was a bold america. that is what we are fighting for. we are still investing in the future. everybody is making sacrifices. nobody bears all the burden by themselves. the idea that no matter what we look like a where we are, that we are all connected. that is the idea at the heart of america. it was the heart of our campaign. this is why i'm going to need

your help now more than ever. there'll be candidates parading around the country. they will do what they do which is that they will attack. they won't have a plan but they will attack. i and a stand that. the american people are lot less interested in us attacking each other, they are more interested in us attacking the country's

problems. [applause] they are less interested in us exchanging insults about the past, they want to talk about the future. that is the concept that america needs. that is a concept that we will win. [applause] philadelphia, i know that there are some of you that are frustrated that we have not gotten done everything that we said we would have gotten done in two and a half years. it has only been two and a half years. 5 1/2 more years ago. [applause]

there times when i feel frustrated. but we knew this was not going to be easy. there will be setbacks like there was setbacks during the first campaign. there'll be times when we stumble just like we stumbled during the first campaign. we also knew that at each and every juncture in our history, when our future was on the line -- [cheering] [crowd chanting "obama"]

we have always come together to keep the american dream alive for the next generation. now, it is the time to do it again. to finish what we started and keep the dream alive. this campaign is not about me. is about us. about people working their way through college, people building the american cars again, small business owners testing new ideas, construction workers laying down roads, families to face hardship and setbacks but will not stop believing in this country. we believe that we can emerge stronger than before. that is a story of progress in america, the stubborn refusal

to accept anything less than the best of this country can be. with your help, if you are willing to keep fighting with me, if you are willing to knock on doors as me, if you're willing to get as much energy going into thousand 8, we will write another chapter in the story. that lets you, philadelphia. got bless you, pennsylvania. yes, we can. god bless you. god bless us. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> tomorrow on "washington journal," and examination of attitudes about patriotism. bruce fleming talks about his article, "does the military have a clear purpose." then, the early battlegrounds for 2012 and strategies for gop candidates and president obama. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m., eastern, on c-span. next, our campaign 2012 coverage continues with michelle bac hmann's presidential candidacy

announcement. >> minnesota republican rep michelle bachmann formally announced her candidacy for president in waterloo, iowa. she predicted that obama would be a one-term president. >> good morning. good morning. is this is so great to be here in iowa this morning, and even better to be here in waterloo where i was born. [applause] i think it is entirely fitting that we are here today act the site that was once the waterloo

women's club, so thank you for being here. my name is michele bachmann. i stand here in the midst of many friends and many family members to announce formally my candidacy for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] i do so, because i am is so profoundly grateful for the blessings that i have received, bothrom god and from this great country, and not because of the position of this office, but because i am determined that every american deserves these blessings, and that together, once again we can secure the promise of the future for america. because i want to bring of voice, your voice, to the white house, just as i brought your voice to the halls of the united states congress to secure the

promise of the future, not only for our generation, but for t generations yet to come. i often say that everything i need to know, i learned in iowa. [applause] i learned those lessons at hawthorne elementary, at a valley park elementary, and at my home, which is a very short distance from where we're standing today. because this is where my iowa routes were firmly planted. and it is these iowa roots my faith in god that guide me today. i am is descendeof generations of violence. and i know what it means to be from iowa. -- i am a descendant of generations of iowans. the values out to make iowa, and my mother called the breadbasket of the world. and those values are the best of

all of us put together, which we must recapture to secure that promise of the future. waterloo was very different five decades ago when i was here. that elementary school building was much younger then, and i have to admit, so was i. five decades ago. five decades ago when i wt to those elementary schools, the halls were literally teeming with young people running up and down the halls, parents who had dreams for their children and for their future, a future with promise, and parents who wanted it filled with even more opportunities than they and my own parents had known. five decades ago, in america, we had less depth than we have today. we had $300 billion or less in debt. a gallon of gasoline was 31 cents, and owning a home was part of the american dream. today, that debt standst over

$14 trillion. i gallon of gas is outrageously expensive. and unfortunately, millions of too many americans know what it is to have a home that is fi for closure. and so those drains our distant for many americans. times have changed here in waterloo, but the people have not. the people still have the same spirit in waterloo that iowans have always come to exemplify. we work hard. we do not spend more money than what we take in, and we expect to pass on a better life to our children but the problem is, our government keeps getting bigger, and it makes it tougher for all of us to pass on our values and our lives to our children, and it has cost jobs to go overseas. and they're spending more of our money than we want them to, and that means that we get to keep less. so do not mistake my hpy memories of growing up here in

waterloo, iowa as pining for the past. i recognize, it is impossible to turn the clock back and go back to a different day. instead, i want this moment to serve as a reminder of the best of who we are as a nation. and of what our values are and what it is to make america great, to recapture the the promise of the fute. i wt my candidacy for the presidency of the united states to stand for a moment when we, the people, stand once again for the independence from a government that has gotten too big and spends too much and has taken away too much of our liberties. [cheers and applause] as americans, we have always confronted challenges, and our history is one that has been marked both by struggles as well as by prosperity.

my younger days, like so many americans, were difficult, especially during the years of my mother's struggles after a divorce, but we made our own way. we depended on our neighbors. we depded on ourselves. it was not the government that we depended on. because we trust in god, in our neighbors, and not in government. americans still have that same spirit. [cheers and applause] but government keeps trying to erase that spirit, because government thinks it knows better. government thinks it knows better how to spend our money. government thinks they know how to make a better life for us. they think they create jobs. they even think they can make as healthier. but that is not the case. we have to recapture the founders' vision of a constitutionally conservative government if we are to secure

the promise for the future. i am also here because waterloo laid the roots of my own life in politics. i never thought i would be in public life. i grew up in iowa. my grandparents are buried here. i remember how sad i was the day my mother told me we were going to leave ottawa when i was in the sixth great, because this part of iowa was all i had ever known. i remember telling my mother that we cannot possibly move to minnesota, because whad not even bid to the state capitol in in the morning yet. [laughter] when we lived here, i grew up a democrat. my first involvement in politics was working for jimmy carter's election in 1976. but when i saw the direction that jimmy carter to our country, how big spending his liberal majority group government and weakened our standing in the world, how the

decreased our liberties, i became a republican. [cheers and applause] i remember the date distinctly when i stood in the kitchen of my grandmother's home on at lafayee street here in waterloo. i listened to my dad, who was a democrat, talked to my grandmother, who was a republican, and they were discussing lyndon johnson's great society program. it was my republican grandmother who gave an admonition to my father. she said to him, david, it will not be you who pays for all of these programs for the great society. it will be davy and michele, my older brother and myself, and now my grandmother's prediction has come true. i firmly believe that neither my democrat father, nor my republican grandmother, would have ever condoned the spending and the debt that america is in during today.

i had not planned on getting into polics. i loved law. i went to law school. then i went on and became a tax lawyer. together with my husband, we created a successful small business and jobs for people in our area. and when i saw the problems in our local school district and how academic excellence was being eroded by federal government interference with the local schools, i decided i needed to do more than just complain. i decided that it was one of those i know of values that has been instilled in me, which was to always leave whenever i found as better than when i found it. so i decided to seek public office to make o local school district better. i did not seek public office for power or for fortune, but simply to make life better in our community and our public schools better for our children. and now i seek the presidency, not for vanity, but because america is at a crucial moment.

and i believe that we must make a bold choice if we are to secure the promise of our future. because we simply cannot kick the canf our problems down the road. because our problems, quite frankly, are today. our problems are not tomorrow. we cannot continue to rack up debt and put it on the backs of the next generation. we cannot afford the unconstitutional health care law that will cost us too much and delivered so little. [applause] we cannot afford four more years of failed leadership here at home and abroad. we cannot afford -- [applause] we cannot afford four more years of millions of americans who are out of work and who are not

making enough in wages to support a family. we cannot afford four more years of a housing crisis where we continually watched the value of our homes be devalued in front of our eyes, and we literally see it become impossible for people to purchase a home. we cannot afford four more years of a foreign policy with a president who leads from behind and who does not stand up for our friends, like israel. [cheers and applause] and who too often fails to stand against our enemies. we cannot afford four more years of barack obama. [cheers and applause] as a constitutional conservative, i believe in the founding fathers' vision of a

limited government, the trust in and receive the and the potential of you, the american people. i do not believe these solutions to our problems are washington- century. i believe that there with every american-centric. i believe the most basic, most powerful unit of all, is the family, and the family must be preserd. [applause] we have begun another campaign season, and it almosteems like the last one and only recently ended. but through the rancor of the campaign, let us always remember, there is always so much more that unites us as a nation that divides us. because our problems do not have an identity of party. they are problems that were created by botharties. i think that americans agree. our country is in peril today,

and we have to act with urgency in order to save it. because americans are not interested in affiliation. they are interested in absolutions and leadership that will tell them the truth. the truth is, all of us, we, the american people, are the solution, not our government. because this issue is about big issues. it is not about pey wines. when all is said and done, we cannot be about big government as usual. becausthen america will lose, quite frankly. and in washington, u.s. of bringing a voice to the halls of congress that has been missing for a very long time. it is your voice. it is the voice of the people that i love and the people that i learned souch from as a young girl growing up here in waterloo. it is the voice of reasonable, fair minded people, who love this country, who are patriotic, who see the united states as the indispensable nation of this

world. [applause] and my voice is one that is part of a much larger movement to take back our country and i wan to take that voice to the white house. it is the voice of constitutional conservatives who want government to do its job and not our job, and what our government to live within its means, not our means, and certainly not our children's means. i am here today in waterloo, iowa to announce -- we can win in 2012, and we will win. [cheers and applause] it may have started small, but our voic is growing louder. our voice is growing stronger, and it is made up of americans from all walks of life, like a three-legged stool.

it is made up of strengt conservatives, and i am one of those. it is made up of fiscal conservatives, and i am one of those. it is made up osocial conservatives, and i am one of those. [applause] and it is made up of the tea party movement, and i am one of those. [cheers and applause] the liberals, and to be clear, i am not one of those, want you to believe that the tea party movement is just a white bring french of the rublican party. but i am here to tell you, nothing -- is just a fringe of the republican party. that is not the truth. it is disaffected democrats, independen, people who have never been political, and it is made up of libertarianand republicans. we are people who simply want to get america back on the right track again. [cheers and applause]

we're practical people. we know our country can work. we just want it to work again. it is a very powerful coalition that the left fears, and they should. because, make no mistake about it, barack obama will be a one- term president. [applause] in a february 2009, president obama was very confident that his economic policies would turn the country around within a year. he said, "a year from now, i think people are going to see that we're starting to make some progress. if i do not have this done in three years, then there is going to be a one-term proposition." well, mr. president, your

policies have not worked. spending our way out of the recession has not worked. and so, mr. president, we take you at your word. [applause] waterloo holds a very special place for me, but it also holds a very special place for our nation. because water will still since its finest young men and women off to fight for america and to protect o freeds that allow us to gather here together. i honor my father, who served on the u.s. air force. i honor my stepfather, who served in the u.s. army. i honor my stepbrothers, who served and retired from the united states navy. we will never forget the sacrificesf our brave men and women in our military. it is part of our past that we remember -- [cheers and applause]

to secure the future of the promise of america. and is thus values that make our country unique and make us the mo powerful force for good on this planet. i believe we are the indispensable nation, and that is the spirit that separates us from those who would give their own life for others from those who sacrificed others, like terrorists, who use little children's lives as human shields. but i think perhaps the valor of our american fighting heroes was never captured better than in the sacrifice made by the sullivan brothers from right here in waterloo. my father told my three brothers and i, when we were little children, this story of the sullivan family, who were like so many other families in the great depression. they were just fortunate to get by. and most of the family worked here in waterloo at the

meatpacking plants. when a close friend ofhe sullivan family died at pearl harbor, the solo event five brothers and listed in the u.s. navy. but under the condition that they would be allowed to serve together. one of the brothers wrote -- we will make a team together but cannot be beat. born and raised here in waterloo, the five sullivan brothers have always stuck together. however, one cold morning after a long night of intense battles, a japanese torpedo struck the ship upon which they served. it killed most of the crew, and it launched the rest into the water. the oldest of the sullivan brothers was named george. george tirelessly searched the waters for his brothers, but there were not to be found. george survived the attack. but later, george perished at sea. of the 697 brave man of that ship, only 10 survived that

attack. the rest gave their lives for their country. and in spite of the intense pain of losing five sons all at once, the parents of the sullivans' became an inspiration to the rest of the nation. in the midst of their grief, they spoke to millions of americans behal of the war effort. so to honor the sullivans, two ships were named for them. the motto of the last ship -- we stick together. [applause] theirs was a demonstration of the holy scripture which sat, greater love hath no man than this but that he laid down his own life for his friend. that is the kind of love we americans have for this great country. we americans stick together. triumphed together. in the words of daniel webster, who said -- one cause, one

country, one heart that is the kind of commitment it will take us to face these great challenges that are before , but i believe that the great people of this country are longing for a president who will listen to them and who will lead from the front and not from behind. [applause] i am michele bachmann. i am running for the president of the united states. together, we can do this. [applause] together, we can rein in the corruption and the waste that has become washington, and instead, we can leave behind a better future for the next generation of americans. together, we can make a better america if we stick together. together, we can bring the promisef